Evangelical A. C. Church (Košice): A Neoclassical Lutheran Church
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Slovakia
- Primary era
- Modern
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- Austrian Empire, Habsburg, Hungarian
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page8 sections
History
The Evangelical A. C. Church in Košice, Slovakia, is a Neoclassical Lutheran church built between 1804 and 1816 for the town’s German- and Slovak-speaking Evangelicals of the Augsburg Confession, a foundational statement of Lutheran belief. Johann Georg Kitzling, a court architect from Vienna, designed the building. Worshippers’ donations funded its construction, and Hungarian Evangelicals joined the project while it was underway, paying for the bells.
The church belongs to the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia and is affiliated with its East District, a broader regional division, the Košice Seniorate, a regional administrative unit, and the Košice congregation. It was registered as a Slovak National Cultural Monument on 16 October 1963.
Remains
Plan and dome
The stone church has a Neoclassical design and an oval-centered plan, with choir galleries on either side. An oval-plan dome rises above the interior. Its illusionistic paintings create the appearance of coffering decorated with rosettes, and a lantern provides illumination.
Interior furnishings
Principal altar
The principal altar has a columnar design and sculptures. Its painting was created by Jozef Czauczik and Ján Müller.
Wooden cross
A wooden cross dated 1735 was brought into the church from a cemetery associated with wooden churches that preceded the present building.
Organ
The church contains a one-manual Rieger organ made in Krnov in 1904.
Attached buildings
The rectory and congregation house are attached to the church; both originally served as an Evangelical school. Above the entrance is the Latin inscription SOLI DEO GLORIA, meaning “Glory to God alone.”
